Oil spill cleanup impedes major Texas ship channel

MGN Online

TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) - The Coast Guard says that the cleanup of a Texas oil spill is blocking the movement of about 60 ships in or out of the Galveston Bay, including three cruise ships.

Lt. Sam Danus says the mouth of Houston Ship Channel is closed. Twenty-seven vessels, including two cruise ships, are waiting to enter the channel from the Gulf of Mexico. Thirty-four vessels, including one cruise ship, are waiting to leave Galveston Bay.

Danus says it's not clear when the channel will reopen.

A barge carrying nearly a million gallons of marine fuel oil collided with a ship Saturday afternoon, springing a leak in one of the tanks.

Danus also says the Coast Guard hasn't determined how much oil spilled into the bay. A tank holds 168,000 gallons.

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